On Friday, August 30, 2024, the Hunter Stadium at HITS Hudson Valley in Saugerties, New York, was the prime spectator area as the day’s competition featured two USHJA National Hunter Derbies. The $2,500 USHJA Open National Hunter Derby included 29 horse-and-rider pairs competing for the blue, but it was Leana Romond and her star mount Forsini that emerged victorious once again. In the $2,500 USHJA Jr/Am National Hunter Derby, Julia Brown, and G-Star finished on top, while Ellie Ferrigno rode FRH Remarkable to the win in the USHJA Gladstone Cup Amateur Equitation Classic.
Forsini might not be the most experienced derby competitor, but Romond has spent the season developing the nine-year-old Warmblood gelding by For Pleasure and enhancing his skills in the show ring, including a win in the 5,000 USHJA Open National Hunter Derby during HITS-on-the-Hudson IV. With the 3’3” Amateur-Owner Hunter division to show in over the weekend with owner Lexi Maounis, Romond entered Friday’s Derby as their first competition of the week. Their advancement together was on full display as they captured the top spot with a great performance, earning a 92 in the first round and an impressive 96 in the second, culminating in a total score of 188.
“He has a great expression, and now he feels like he’s always looking for the jump,” said Romond. “At the beginning of the summer, he wasn’t used to the jumps coming up
in different places, but today, he really felt like he was looking for the next jump the whole way around. He has gotten really quite brave to walk in and canter straight to the first jump. In a lot of ways, he just feels so made up at this point, which is really satisfying.”
Romond, who trains professionally out of Heritage Farm in Katonah, New York, has incorporated equitation-style techniques into Forsini’s program at home to help prepare him for the intricate derby courses. The pair practices various jumps, turns, and tracks to ensure that Forsini is ready for any surprises in the show ring. Friday’s course put their training to the test with elaborate jumps, four high options in each round, and a trot fence in the handy.
“We spend a lot of our summer at HITS Hudson Valley, and I’ve used these national derby classes as sort of a barometer for how he’s doing,” explained Romond. “When we started, it was a challenge for him to step in and do the handy rounds like he’s able to do now, so he has really progressed. It has been nice coming here periodically throughout the season, and he has done a little better each time. The jumps today were beautifully decorated, as always, but with some newer-looking material, so it has been great that every time we come back here, it has been like a new experience. We’ve gotten to show in some different rings as well, which has really helped this horse.”
Finishing in the runner-up spot was Victoria Colvin with Gabriel, a 13-year-old KWPN gelding by Azteca VDL owned by JT Farm. Colvin navigated the first round to earn an 88 and followed that up with a strong 94 in the handy round, securing an overall score of 182 for second place. Michael Desiderio and Cromwell, a 15-year-old Warmblood gelding by Mighty Magic owned by Debbie Bianco, claimed third place with a combined score of 180.5, after achieving an 88.5 in the first round and a 92 in the second.
Following the $2,500 USHJA Open National Hunter Derby was the $2,500 USHJA Jr/Am National Hunter Derby. The class featured a combination of junior and amateur riders with thirty-seven pairs on the start list. Amateur competitor Julia Brown rode G-Star, a 13-year-old Warmblood gelding by Indorado owned by Kathleen Schmeler, to the top prize. Brown guided G-Star around the first course, earning a score of 90, and returned in the handy round, scoring a 92, for a total score of 182 and the win. Makayla Cormier finished in second place aboard Centurion. Cormier and her seven-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Caesar received scores of 87 in the first round and 82 in the second round, totaling 169. Rounding out the top three was amateur rider Megan Blair on her mount Roshambo, a 21-year-old Warmblood gelding with an overall score of 165.
Friday’s competition heated up in one of HITS Hudson Valley’s newest arenas, The Ring, with the USHJA Gladstone Cup Amateur Equitation Classic. Seventy-two pairs competed in the first round of the three-round class set at 3’. The first round, designed by Chris Collman of Cave Creek, Arizona, consisted of fences 1-11, highlighted by two combinations, bending lines, and an imposing hay bale jump. Twenty riders returned for the second round and were tested on their ability to navigate an even more difficult course of 10 fences with tighter turns, which also included a trot fence. The top four riders were then invited back to test.
Ellie Ferrigno took the tricolor ribbon aboard FRH Remarkable, a 15-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by FRH Group, scoring a 95 in round one and an 85 in round two, for an overall score of 180.
Reserve champion was awarded to Grace McReynolds and O’dieu vd Heide, a 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding (Dieu Merci van T&L x Onze Fons) owned by Katherine Leaffer, with scores of 88 in the first round and 86 in the second round. Hannah Klinedinst and MTM Brando, a 12-year-old Warmblood gelding by Diarado owned by Equestrian Closet LLC, completed the top three with scores of 91 and 84.
Hunter and equitation classes during HITS-on-the-Hudson VII continue throughout the weekend, while HITS Championship begins on September 4. For complete results, please visit www.showmanagementsystem.com.
